Aeroplane.



J. BUT'INER AEROPLANE.

APPLIoATloN FILED SEPT. a. 1913.

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lJOSIElln-lf BUTTNER, OF BALTIMRE, IVIARYLAND.

AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pariah-tad July 21,` 1914:

Application filed September 3, 1913. Serial No. 787,973.

To all wlmi/n it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrrr Bo'r'rr'nn, a citizen of the United States, residing,` at Baltimore, in the State of lllaryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is a speeiiieation,reference being had therein to the accon'ipan)'ing drawing.

A The invention relates more particularly to balancing` orfstabilizing devices for aeroplanes.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a device which is adapted, when in normal position, to serve as a vertical plane to prevent lateral slipping' or skidding when the aeroplane is sharply inclined trans-f versely, and which is adapted, upon being.

moved or adjusted, to provide additional supporting planes to be used in ease of emergency.

provide certain improved details of construction for supporting and controlling the principal parts of the balancing and stabilizing device.

In the aceompanyingg,- drawings I have indicated diagrammatically an aeroplane of the monoplane type and have shown attached to this aeroplane a device, embodyingl my invention.

It will be understood that the. details of theaeroplane form no part of my invention and are therefore not shown. It is 'further `to be understood that while I have illustrated a monoplane, a device embodying my invention is not limited to use with an aeroplane of this type.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view; Fig'. Q is a side view; 3 is a 'front view; Fig. il an enlarged fragmentary elevation ot-the controlliing4 mechanism Ytor the supplemental planes; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentarysectional view taken along the line 55 ot Fig. l.

'Referringtothe drawings, 1 re'g'n'esents as a whole the aeroplane. nienoplane has been illustrated, but, as stated above. my invention is not limited to an aeroplane ot this type. As shown, the aeroplane is provided with a main 'frame 2: with the main supportingv planes 3, 3. which extend laterally and are separated from each other at their inner edges; with the suriplemental guiding and controlling` planes si and 5; with the'propeller (3; and with a suitable 1 urther objects ot the. invention are to motor and control devices which, for the salie of simplicity, have been omitted trom the drawings'.

`Secured to the main frame 2 is an upstanding' frame 7 which, inthe preferred forni shown,comprises three pairs of uprights S, S, 9, 9, and 10, 10. vr1`he nprights 9, 9 are placed at the center line of the main iframe, and the uprights S, S and 10, 10 are arranged, respectively, at the sides. Transverse and longitudinal bars 11, '11 and 12, 12 connect the upper ends of the uprights. TBrel'erably a supplemental transverse bar 1l is provided between the bars 11, 11. Pivoted to the upper ends ot' the central uprights 9, 9 are two planes 13, 13, which have substantially. the same area, respectively, as the main planes 3,

Duringv the normal operation o the aeroplane, the planes 13, 13 are intended to be carried in the positions shown by full lines in Fins. 1 and 2 and by dot-ted lines in Fig. "When in these positions the two planes cooperated 'to stabilize or balance the aeroplane and to pre-vent lateral movement. It is well known that when an aeroplane tilts transversely to an angle of approximately orty-ive degrees, the tendency toward lateral movement can no longer be overcome by the forward driving' force. andv the machine slips or skids. This tansverse slipping or shielding, however, will be prevented bythe planes 13, 1B when'they are in the normal lower position. It frequently happens in a case of emergency, such, for instance, as 'the stopping of the engine or the .breakingr of one or both of the main supporting` planes, that additional supporting` surface is required. Then such an emergency is met with. the operator can spread the wings or planes 13, 13 and move them to the position shown by i'ull lines in Fig. 3 and by dotted lines in F 1. Vv'hen the planes are in this position, they cooperate with the main planes tor supporting the machine. As stated above, they are of substantially the same area as the main planes and are there- 'tore sullicient to enable the operator to malle a sate descent even it' the main planes were to be entirely destroyed. In fact, the operator, by moving only one of the planes 13 to its upper position and keeping the other in its lower position, can properly balance the machine in case one main plane is dewill be noted that because of the pivoting of the planes 13 at their upper or inner edges, they are adapted to be automatically opened by the air in the case ot a too rapid descent of the machine. 'lhis is an important feature as`v in an emergency, the operator would have little orno time for manually moving the planes.

The upper part of the supplemental framework 'i is positioned above the planes and both serves to engage and hold them in place in ease the other mechanism, provided for this purpose, fails. 1n fact, this supplemental framework cooperates with the supplelnental planes to form a device of the nature oi a parachute which, in the ease of extreme emergency, would serve to gradually loiver the operator and the mechanism to the ground. For controlling the supplemental planes, I have shown in the drawings tor purposes of illustration, one form of mechanism. lVhile this has features of advantage, l Wish it to be understood that my invention is not limited to this particular lorm ot mechanism, and that other :forms adapted for the purpose may be used, if desii-ed. As shown, cords or ropes 14;, 1-1, areconneeted to the. outer edges of the planes and extend downward over pulleys 15, 15, n'iounled on the rear upright 9. At their lower ends the ropes 14C, 1st, are Wound upon drums 1G. 1G. which are loosely mounted on a shaft 17. This shaft 1T is 'journaled in a suitable bearing secured to the rear upright 9. Each drum 1G has secured to it a ratchet wheel 1S and pawls 19, 19, are provided for engaging the ratchet Wheels. The pawls 19, 19, are connected with foot levers Q0, 20, by means of which they can be released. Each drum 16 also has secured to it a crank arm Q1. Pivotally mounted on each crank arm 21 is a lever Q2 which carries at its outer end a handle 23. The inner end of the lever Q9 is adapted to engage with or be disengaged from a groove or slot in the correspomling end of the shaft 1T. It will be clear that when the planes are in the position shown in Fig. 3, and the operator desires to lower them. he can do so by turning either ot' the cranks 23. This .vill be clear Jfrom a reference to Fig. 5. The paivls 19, 19` Will engage the ratchet wheels 18, 1S, and hold the planes in any position to Which theaT may be lowered. It for any reason the operator desires to lower but one ot the planes, he can do so by pushing in on the handle 213 before starting to turn. In this way he disconnects the lever 22 from the shal't 17 and thus enabled to turn only the one drum to which the corresponding arm Q1 is connected.

` 'The force of the air will, under most circumstanees, 'be suilicient to raise the planes, but I pret'er to provide mechanism for raising `them independently ot' the air.

Any preferred mechanism can vbe used but, 'f'or the sake of illustration, I have shown coil springs 211, 24. These springs tend normally to press the planes outward and upward, and their action can be overcome by -rreans of the ropes 11, 11, and the mechanism which has been described.

.Yhat l claim is 1. The combination in an aeroplane, of the main lifting` and supporting planes all fixed against relative movement and all having their transverse lines substantially horizontal, and the two supplemental planes mounted above the main planes symmetrically with respect Ato the central longitudinal axis olf the aeroplane, the t-Wo supplemental planes having substantially the same area as the main planes and being movable simultaneously about longitudinal axes to vertical positions in which they `serve as guiding planes to prevent lateral movement or :to horizontal positions in which they serve as supporting planes.

2. The combination in an aeroplane, of the main lifting and supporting planes all fixed against relative movement and all having their transverse lines substantially horizontal, and the tu'o supplemental planes mounted above the main planes symmetrically 'ith respect to the central longitudinal axis of the aeroplane, the two supplemental planes having substantially the same area as the main planes and being movable simultaneously about longitudinal axes at the edges thereotl respectively to vertical positions below the said axes in which they serve as guiding planes to prevent lateral movement or to horizontal positions in which they serve as supporting planes.

3. The combination in an aeroplane, of the main lifting and supporting planes all fixed against relative movement and all having their transverse lines substantially horizontal, and two supplemental planes mounted above the main planes symmetrically ivith respect to the central longitudinal axis of the aeroplane, the two supplemental planes having substantially the same area as the main planes and each being pivoted at one edge about a longitudinal axis near the center ot the aeroplane, and means for simultaneously moving' the two supplemental planes to vertical positions in which they serve as lguiding planes to prevent lateral movement or to horizontal positions in which they serve as supporting planes.

l. The combination in an aeroplane, of the main lifting and supporting planes all lixed against relative movement and all having their transverse lines substantially horizontal, the two supplemental planes mounted above the main planes symmetrically with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the aeroplane, `the tivo supplemental planes having substantially the same area as the main planes and being movable simulthem to prevent their movement above their taneously about longitudinal axes at the horizontal positions. 10

edges thereof respectively to vertical posi- In testimony whereof I affix my signature f tions below the said axes in which they serve in presence of two Witnesses.

5 as guiding planes to prevent lateral move- JOSEPH BUTTNER. .1 A ment or to horizontal positions in which l/Vitnesses:

4 they serve as supporting planes, and means- FREDERICK Bn'rz,

above the supplemental planes for engaging CHARLES H. PLANTHOTT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

, Washington, D. C. 

